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Masters of Cinema : Quentin Tarantino

Explosive film-maker, virtuoso script writer and a high school drop-out Quentin Tarantino, is probably the most creative director working today, and certainly the most creative writer-director. He has rapidly emerged as the voice of his generation and a leading icon of popular youth culture. His uniquely stylish films, with their designer violence, exuberant black humour and rapid-fire, tough guy dialogue, have won him worldwide critical acclaim and rock star status. Tarantino is a proof that you can break the rules and still triumph over Hollywood.

A new age film-maker who had learnt the art of filmmaking, not at a film school, but by watching tapes and television.

Quentin Jerome Tarantino was born in March 27, 1963 in Tennessee. Tarantino's father is Italian American and his mother had part Cherokee Native American ancestry. Shortly after Quentin's birth, his mother married a musician with whom Quentin would form a strong bond.

In 1971, the family moved to Los Angeles. At the age of 14, he wrote his first script, "The Amazing Adventures of Mr. Lee". Dropping out of High School, California at the age of sixteen, he went on to learn acting at the James Best Theatre Company. This proved to be influential in his movie-making career.

Then, he started working in a video store-his real school. There he devoured all the films they had and expanded his horizons. People who used to go to his video store would always say he had the best recommendations. But he was meant for more than that. He started writing scripts. He started selling his scripts to raise funds for his own films... He sold the scripts that ended up being the films True Romance and Natural Born Killers.

While working as a video archive clerk he met his “would-be” producing associate, Mr. Roger Avary. Roger Avary made several joint screenplays with Tarantino before making a 70-minute comedy, My Best Friend’s Birthday which was co-directed by Craig Hamann. Then, Tarantino met the producer Lawrence Bender at a Hollywood party, Bender encouraged Tarantino to write a screenplay. In January 1992, Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs hit the Sundance Film festival.

Reservoir Dogs garnered critical acclaim and the director became a legend in the UK and the cult film circuit. It was a dialogue-driven heist movie that set the tone for his later films.

Tarantino took giant stride as a filmmaker with Pulp Fiction , his next film, which is often regarded as the ’film of the 90s’ by film critics and viewers alike. The film was immensely liked not only for its fantastic performances and dialogue , it was a tale so effectively written, with innumerable unpredictable moments, that even the harshest of critics were left spellbound by the innovative genius behind it. Attempting a screenplay that proceeded with nonlinear events, it was a bold and novel move that revolutionized the way movie scripts were narrated.

Trade Mark : Briefcases and suitcases play an important role, Lead characters usually drive General Motors vehicles, Extreme violence, much of which is suggested off-screen, All of his films feature one or more scenes in a restaurant, Often uses an unconventional storytelling device in his films, such as retrospect (Reservoir Dogs (1992)), non-linear (Pulp Fiction (1994)), or "chapter" format (Kill Bill: Vol.1 ( 2003))

Although he uses both elements in his films, he strongly detests violence and drugs. Has an IQ of 160 despite dropping out of high school.

Ranked #8 in Empire (UK) magazine's greatest directors ever. Was the head judge at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

His films mainly feature criminals and characters committing horrible crimes involving murder and drugs. The only crime Tarantino has committed was shoplifting from a bookstore when he was a teenager.

"When people ask me if I went to film school I tell them, no, I went to films."

[On media criticisms of violence in his movies]: "What if a kid goes to school after seeing Kill Bill and starts slicing up other kids? You know, I'll take that chance! Violent films don't turn children into violent people. They may turn them into violent filmmakers but that's another matter altogether."

[on Reservoir Dogs] T"his movie was never meant to be everything for everybody. And I don't mean that as a slam. I'm just saying I made this movie for myself and everybody else is invited."

[acceptance speech winning the Oscar for Best Screenplay for Pulp Fiction] "Uh thanks! Uh, this has been a very strange year. I can definitely say that. Uh, you know what? I was trying to think...I think this is the only award I'm going to win here tonight, so I was trying to think, maybe I should say a whole lot of stuff, right here right now, just get it out of my system, you know, all year long, everything roiling up, and everything, just blow it all, just tonight, just say everything! But I'm not. Thanks."

Tarantino continues to infuse his distinct, innovative films with appreciative nods to classic moviemaking styles, genres and motifs. The films of Quentin Tarantino are ripe for philosophical speculation, raising compelling questions about justice and ethics, violence and aggression, the nature of causality, and the flow of time. Cinema lovers are eagerly awaiting for Tarantino’s upcoming project, which is titled 'Django Unchained,' and has excellent stars like Di Caprio, Christopher Waltz, Jamie Foxx, Samuel Jackson.

Some think he is past his prime but I think he just experiments so much that he is bound to rub some people the wrong way. His films always have some great quality about them or at the very least some great scenes. To me he is one of the best directors working today and his continued creations are going to keep us all entertained for years to come.

13 comments:

I just can't tell how badly I'm waiting for Django Unchained...And I've always liked and preferred directors who write their own films.I simply love his quote "When people ask me if I went to film school I tell them, no, I went to films."